To think that 8 p.m. is too late for children to eat their tea?

[whatever5]

Dh cooks tea for us all on Saturday (I cook during the week) and as usual he is outside having a beer in the garden at 7 p.m. rather than getting on with cooking.

He can't see the problem and thinks that I am being unreasonable and "controlling" to be annoyed that the children (age 9 and 12) won't get any food until 8 p.m.

Am I being unreasonable?

Go hide and let them bother DH!

Just have a snack.

I have only one rule with DH and timing for food (he cooks) and that is that he tells me when we're going to eat so I can plan to have snacks or not to have snacks.

Yabu, we have just had dinner, five kids from 13 down to two years, they had a snack of crackers and cheese at about 4pm.

Its the weekend and its summer -supposedly tho yesterdays weather made it feel more like feb-- anyway at 12 and 9 yes they are more than capable of getting something to eat if they are hungry, hell they could even make dinner.

YAbu my 5 year old has only just finished her tea...7.30pm. Children of your DCs ages can wait! It's the weekend.

YANBU. If they are used to eating at 6:30 and expected to eat at 6:30 then all should agree a new eating time.

Yabu it's 7.30 and my 5 & 8 year old dc have just sat down to eat.

It's a weekend treat for them to stay up later

5 mad-I agree,ds would just announce he was starving and go and find something

YABU my dd (9,7 and 4) have just finished eating and its 8.30pm here they were to busy playing

Give them some toast or fruit

Surely they are big enough to make themselves some toast to keep them going?

If dinner is always later on a Saturday, why on earth don't you just let them have a snack earlier

Give them snack at 4.30/5 on Saturdays then. Sounds perfectly normal to me if you do that.

I'd be aggravated but I do have order and control issues!

Does no one else think that four people are affected by this decision but only one person is making it?

Same here Valium they would just help themselves to some toast, fruit, whatever. Ds1 made dinner tonight whilst I was busy sat on my arse mnetting

I think you are being a bit controlling actually. They are 9 and 12, not babies, and can surely help themselves to a banana or something to keep the hunger pangs at bay?

Mine are 2 and 4, and we had our dinner at just after 7. We eat around 6-6.30 during the week, but it is lovely at the weekend to have the whole day without stressing about what time the dinner is getting onto the table.

Interesting that some of the people who think I'm being unreasonable have just finished their food or have started to eat. Dh hasn't started cooking our food yet!

If they have snacks, younger dd doesn't eat any tea (or very little). This is what often happens which is one of the reasons I am annoyed that it always has to be so late.

But I wouldn't mind if DH didn't start cooking till this time really....not on a weekend. We relax bedtimes and everything really.

Its one night a week. The op says she cooks during the week, and decides what time to cook. The dh cooks on the Saturday and decides what to cook.

The children are old enough to get a snack if they want.

Oh and if my 4 year old was starving then I'd make her a sandwich and a little platter of cut up veg or fruit...then she'd go to bed on that. Not going to harm her at all...

It's not controlling when the only person this meal time suits is her husband!

OP, could Saturday night dinner for the children be fish and chips or similar, so that they can get that whenever they are ready to eat?

I would have felt the same when dc were little. But 9 and 12 are not little in my book. And I've just been out to look at my curry- it's not ready yet.

OP you didn't say that though, you said he would cook for 8 pm. So what time will food be ready? Can you not just say to him that next week can he start food earlier?